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On Friday, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced the COVID-19 related death of an inmate that had occurred more than two weeks prior at the Beto Unit in Tennessee Colony. He was one of 1,275 inmates who have tested positive for the coronavirus in Texas state prisons. Tennessee Colony units account for 11.45% of all cases reported by TDCJ.

The TDCJ said James Matthews, 68, was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in his cell on April 13. TDCJ said Matthews had begun showing possible COVID-19 symptoms on April 9 when he was tested for the virus.

He was serving a 40-year sentence out of Hopkins County on charges of indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child. It is unclear why his death was not announced earlier.

The prison complex in Tennessee Colony can house about 10,000 inmates between the five units located in unincorporated Anderson County. Those co-located prisons in the complex consist of the George Beto, Coffield, Mark W. Michael and Louis C. Powledge Units and the Joe F. Gurney Transfer Facility.

The Beto Unit has the second most confirmed COVID-19 positive inmates compared to other state prisons. Currently 61 inmates and 20 guards at Beto have tested positive. The number of inmates with the virus decreased by 69 since Saturday, according to TDCJ.

Nineteen more inmates at Beto are awaiting test results, according to the TDCJ’s COVID-19 tracker. The unit with the most cases is the Murray Unit in Gatesville with 65 confirmed positive cases.

The Michael Unit currently has 40 inmates with COVID-19, with four tests pending. TDCJ said 16 Michael Unit employees have tested positive.

The Gurney Transfer Facility has eight inmates who have tested positive and 14 pending tests. One employee has tested positive, according to TDCJ.

TDCJ has said they proactively tested 300 employees at the Beto Unit. Employees are counted by the health district of their counties. Northeast Texas Public Health District, which services Anderson County, has their total at 34 confirmed positive cases. It is unknown if all 20 jailers from the Beto Unit reside in Anderson County.

The Skyview Unit in Rusk has five employees who have tested positive. TDCJ also reported the first inmate case at Skyview.

The East Texas Treatment Facility in Henderson has two employees who have tested positive. Three inmates at that facility tested negative.

Of the 1,275 inmates across the state who have tested positive, 22 have died of COVID-19 related illnesses, three have died of unrelated reasons and 12 autopsies are pending. TDCJ lists 371 inmates as considered recovered, who no longer appear in numbers reported by the facility.

In many cases, the family of those inmates who have died with COVID-19 have declined to have an autopsy performed.

Inmates housed at county jails, and those at federal Bureau of Prison facilities in Texas, are not counted with TDCJ COVID-19 numbers. All data is current as of 5 p.m. Monday.

Beto Unit (Tennessee Colony) – 61 inmates, 20 employees

Michael Unit (Tennessee Colony) – 40 inmates, 16 employees

Gurney Unit (Tennessee Colony )- 8 inmates, 1 employee

Skyview Unit (Rusk) – 1 inmate, 5 employees

East Texas Treatment Facility (Henderson) – 2 employees

Source: TDCJ as of May 4 at 5 p.m.